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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22822324">Haunting</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtfullyyoungduck/pseuds/thoughtfullyyoungduck'>thoughtfullyyoungduck</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haunting [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, M/M, Mentioned Pennywise (IT), reddie as parents</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:22:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22822324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtfullyyoungduck/pseuds/thoughtfullyyoungduck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Part two of hauntings. Eddie and Richie try and find a way to protect their daughter</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak &amp; Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Eddie/daughter, Richie/daughter, The Losers Club/The Losers Club (IT)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haunting [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1640686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Haunting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie and Eddie barely had the decency to wait until it was eight A.M. they hadn’t been able to sleep, to consumed with worry for their daughters safety. Eddie didn’t say anything to Richie about the yellow eyes he saw, or maybe Richie had seen them but had just though not to worry Eddie, because he wouldn’t be able to keep calm if he saw his husband panic as well. </p>
<p>Jessie had slept through the night peacefully, for which Eddie was grateful. He and Richie had kept wake until six A.M, when she woke up, then they had gotten up to make breakfast. Neither left her alone for a minute, standing by the bathroom door when she had to use the bathroom, dead set on not giving penny wise another chance to attack her. </p>
<p>They weren’t even sure if it was really penny wise, but with what Eddie saw, he didn’t want to take any chances. They called Stan first, because despite the fact that Bill was their leader, and Mikel we most about the evil creatures, Stan was the one who would listen to their ranting, and tell them honestly If they were being paranoid. He also was Richie’s best friend. </p>
<p>They called at eight, fully aware that Stan would be pissed beyond belief at being woken up so early. He and Patty were enjoying the last few months of a goodnight sleep, patty being pregnant for about seven months give or take. </p>
<p>Regardless Eddie insisted on dialing their home line, instead of their selfphone, knowing full well Patty would force Stan to pick up. After patty found out about what happened to the loser club in their youth, she had become very protective of all of them. Eddie figures that if Patty grew up with them, she definitely would have been part of the losers club. </p>
<p>Stan picks up after the third ring, his voice rough with sleep and annoyance when he asks; ‘why are you calling me at 8 fucking A.M?’ Richie’s holding the phone tightly in his hand. He and Eddie are sitting on the couch, watching Jessie play with her toys on the rug carpet.</p>
<p>They’re holding hands, and it almost feels normal, except Richie isn’t making a joke and the nervous energy buzzing around them usually isn’t present in their household. Eddie feels like he’s suffocating. ‘Hello?’ Stan asks when he doesn’t receive with a response right away. ‘Stan,’ Richie says, squeezing Eddie’s hand hard. Stan lets out a hum, indicating that he’s listening. </p>
<p>‘Okay so, I think Jessie is seeing Pennywise again.’ Richie pauses, but there’s no immediate response. For the first time Eddie wonders if they should’ve called someone else first, and he feels guilty for putting this on Stanley of all people. ‘She says she saw him come in a nightmare last night, and it may be a coincidence but I don’t think so. Stan I’m, I’m scared.’ Richie lowers his voice, trying not to attract the attention of Jessica. </p>
<p>She’s looking up from her toys to look, but doesn’t find the conversation interesting enough to keep paying attention. Eddie knows how difficult it must be for Richie to admit he’s scared, and he’s so proud of him for doing. ‘Richie’, Stan says, his voice shaky yet determined. ‘I think we need to call the other losers.’<br/>
---------------------------------<br/>
It takes a day before all the losers arrive at their house, and in the meanwhile neither Eddie nor Richie have slept on bit. When Beverly and Ben arrive, they force them to go to bed. Eddie argues, not wanting to leave Jessie all by herself, but Beverly told him that he wouldn’t be any help if he was dead tired.<br/>
So he and Richie went to bed, having a fitful sleep.<br/>
Eddie wakes up first, and he follows the sound of his daughters giggles down to the living room. She’s on the couch with Stan and Bill, who she both loves dearly, playing a game of Pictionary. Eddie would scold them for bringing markers on expensive furniture, but right now Eddie is just mostly thankful that she’s okay and happy. He bends down and gives Jessie a kiss on her head, hoping that she hadn’t taken notice of the commotion at their house. </p>
<p>Patty looks up when he enters the room, instantly rushing him toward the kitchen, where Beverly, Ben and Mike are huddled together, going through a few books. </p>
<p>‘Did you find anything’? Eddie immediately inquires. He realizes that he’s been very rude to the people he hasn’t talked to yet, including Mike who must have arrived when he and Richie were sleeping, but he finds it very hard to be polite when he can’t seem to relax for a few minutes. </p>
<p>Mike doesn’t mind anyway, as he throws Eddie a polite smile. He looks good, there’s worry in his eyes, because he loves Jessie as much as Eddie does, but overall good. Taking a trip around the world is bringing him nothing but positivity. Eddie briefly has a fleeting sense of gratitude when he realizes Mike must have cut his vacation short in Honolulu to be here and help. </p>
<p>Ben shakes his head sominly. ‘No it doesn’t make sense at all. We killed IT, we must have, considering we still all remember each other. Plus the house on Neibolt collapsed’, Ben explains, ‘it hasn’t even been 27 years.’ He makes eye contact with Beverly, who makes eye contact with Mike. It’s clear to Eddie that they’re hiding something, he’s just not sure what. </p>
<p>‘Eddie’, Beverly starts, pausing when Bill and Stan and Patty enter the room. ‘She’s watching tv,’ Bill soothes when he sees Eddie’s frantic eyes. Beverly and Stan share a long pause. ‘Is it possible that it was just a clown?’ Stan asks, always one to call people on their bullshit. Eddie deflates a bit, he really needs the support of the people in his house, he had no idea what else he was supposed to do. </p>
<p>‘We’re not saying we don’t believe you Eddie, we do. We’re just saying that everyone is a little paranoid and maybe that’s just what it is. A little bit paranoia.’ Patty is trying her best to keep everyone calm, bless her soul, but she didn’t understand what Eddie had seen. </p>
<p>He hadn’t told Richie either but he wasn’t giving any choice in the matter now, as he had to prove that it was Pennywise. ‘I saw IT’s eyes,’ he breathed panickily.<br/>
Everyone’s head shot up, staring at Eddie as he forced out his words. ‘I saw two yellow eyes last night in the bedroom. That’s how I knew it was IT, and not some weird coincidence.’ He doesn’t notice the figure coming up behind him, until he too speaks.</p>
<p> ‘You did?’ Richie asks, his voice cracking. Eddie whips around to look at his husband. Richie looks disheveled, and not In the way that Eddie finds hot or attractive. Eddie’s silent, not knowing what the say. </p>
<p>The others don’t speak either. Richie looks hurt, as if he can’t believe Eddie would keep things like this from him. </p>
<p>Eddie hadn’t meant too, honestly, but he didn’t want to worry Richie, and he thought he could deal with it on his own, without informing his husband.<br/>
‘Why didn’t you tell me Eddie?’ Richie asks, his voice hard. Eddie flinches at the use of his full name, not used to it coming out of Richie’s mouth. </p>
<p>‘I’m sorry Rich, I just didn’t see the point. I’m sorry.’ Eddie says while stepping forward to place his hands on Richie’s arm. Richie steps back before that can happen however. </p>
<p>‘I can’t believe you lied to me about this. Are you fucking kidding me? This is our daughters life we’re discussing here.’ Richie is angry, and Eddie knows he has every right to be, but he can’t fight with Richie now. He doesn’t have the energy too. ‘I’m sorry okay, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with all of this.’<br/>
Instead of diffusing the situation, it seems to make Richie livid. Eddie had never seen this look on his face before. Only once, when Myra had called the police trying to force Eddie to come home with her. Richie had been consumed with rage then as well. </p>
<p>‘Not bother me with this? What does that even mean? I get that you want to do things on your own Eddie. You can, you don’t need to proof it every time. You’re proving your mom and Myra that you don’t need anyone fine. But have you ever considered the fact that I already know that? You’re brave and selfless and so much more than you think, but this is also my daughter. I have just as much right to be worried about Jessie as you do. You can’t keep that from me.’<br/>
The words are like a slap to Eddie’s face. It stings, but he knows Richie’s right. When the words leave Richie’s mouth, he deflates, heaving a sigh. ‘I’m sorry Eds. That was out of line.’ </p>
<p>Eddie steps forwards and this time Richie meets him in the middle, circling his arms around his. </p>
<p>‘I’m just so worried.’ Eddie shakes his head, about to tell him that he’s right, when Jessie comes skipping in the kitchen. Instantly everyone pretends that nothing happened, only partly successful, but everyone does a double take when they see what she’s holding. In her right hand she’s holding onto a cord, reaching up to a deep red balloon. </p>
<p>It floats in the air, Jessie being unaware of the panic it’s causing the people in the room.</p>
<p>Richie jumps forward, pulling Jessie in his arm while desperately trying to let her let go of the balloon. Eddie follows right away.<br/>
‘Where did you get that sweetheart?’  Eddie asks, feeling his heartbeat frantically in his throat. Jessie smiles brightly. </p>
<p>‘Mister Pennywise gave it to me. He said he was sorry for scaring, so he gave me a balloon to make up for it.’ </p>
<p>She frowns when Bill takes the balloon out of her hands, mike getting scissors to pop it. ‘Hey, that’s a gift.’ She complains. Eddie quickly shushes her. ‘It’s okay, next time we go to a shop I’ll let you pick something else okay?’</p>
<p> It seems like she’s happy with that compromise because she doesn’t mention the balloon again. Patty is send away then, on stan’s request, even though she insist that she could be of help. She relents when she realizes that she’s seven months pregnant, and Eddie and Richie want to make sure that Jessie is as far away from IT as possible. </p>
<p>She takes Jessica to the mall, luring her with the promise of ice cream. Eddie is glad when their car pulls of the drive way, but he would feel a lot better when they finally figure out what’s going on.</p>
<p>He and Richie share a look, and Eddie knows that they’re okay. They’ll still talk about the fight, but for now, they’re okay. The other losers are now frantically going through the books again.</p>
<p>‘Wow, the books look as old as your mom’s vagina Eds’ he jokes, and Eddie rolls his eyes in annoyance. He’s glad however, that Richie is coming to himself again.<br/>
Looking through the old books Mike brought with him takes up most of the day, and by the end Eddie is ready to call it a day. He wants to protect his daughter, obviously, but reading hasn’t brought up anything, so it might be time to change the game plan. Right when the though crosses his mind however, Mike shouts excitingly. ‘I’ve found something guys.’ </p>
<p>He’s pointing to a page in his book, but doesn’t wait until anyone can read it before turning the books towards him again and reading the passage. ‘It’s possible that a piece of the soul of this outer being is transported into something. Potentially an object or even a person. It is the last option to survive.’ Mike sounds relieved after he finishes, but Eddie honestly has no clue what to make of it. By the looks of it, neither do the others. </p>
<p>‘Guys’, Mike exclaims, ‘this is what happened. We killed IT, but maybe not completely. Richie, is there anything you’ve got from Jessie that you don’t recognize buying?’<br/>
Eddie thinks himself, but comes up empty handed. He honestly doesn’t know which things he bought and what Richie bought. Usually, they go shopping together. All at once it hits him. </p>
<p>‘Mister Cuddle’, he mumbles. Bill laughs at the name, stopping when Stan shoots him a hard look. Richie looks up, already nodding his head. </p>
<p>‘That’s right, I remember thinking that it was weird, but I just assumed one of you guys bought it for her.’ Everyone shakes their heads. They hadn’t purchased the stuffed animal. Ben and Richie go up to grab it, not wanting to be alone with the thing. Eddie stays downstairs to figure out a plan. </p>
<p>‘How are we supposed to get rid of IT?’ </p>
<p>Eddie asks, fully prepared to do anything if it would just let his family have some peace and quiet. Mike looks at him, and his look already makes Eddie feel like he’s not going to like it.</p>
<p>--------------- </p>
<p>It smells horrendous. The fire they had set in the backyard is still burning, and it smells like burning flesh. Eddie pretty sure he’s not going to go on a camping trip any time soon. His arm is linked with Richie’s, his lip busted and Richie’s hand cut open. Killing IT completely hadn’t been easy, but they had done it, they had set the bastard on fire. </p>
<p>They could only hope, that this time it would be forever. A car pulls up behind them, and the losers club turns to look, everyone on edge after the past two days. It’s just Patty, carrying Jessie out of the car, fast asleep in her arms. </p>
<p>Jessie seems to notice that she isn’t in a car anymore, her head snapping up and looking around.<br/>
Her eyes focus on her fathers, and she struggles against Patty’s grip in her hast to get down. </p>
<p>As soon as she’s on the ground, she runs towards her fathers, who hold her tightly, happy that she’s safe. Eddie doesn’t mention it, but he swears he sees tears in Richie’s eyes. When they’re done hugging, and Jessie pulls back she scrunches up her nose. ‘Where’s mister cuddles?’ She asks, and Eddie chokes, looking at Richie for help. </p>
<p>All Richie can do is mutter our a small, ‘shit.’</p>
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